A Chicago developer plans to convert a 1950s brick-and-beam structure at 152 Grove St. in Waltham into 130,000 square feet of collaborative office and R&D space.

Hilco Redevelopment Partners paid $15 million in August to acquire the 8-acre property, which is the former headquarters of automotive gauge manufacturer Standard Thomson Co. It has renamed the property “The Gauge” with plans by Boston-based Spagnolo Gisness & Assoc. to renovate the three-building complex by adding large windows, skylights and new building systems.

The office space is expected to be ready for occupancy in early 2017. CBRE/New England has been named the leasing and marketing agent.

The project is the latest in a series of updates to older industrial and R&D properties in the suburbs being repositioned as Class A office space.

Normandy Real Estate Partners gained approval in November to convert the 27-acre General Dynamics Mission Systems property on First Avenue in Needham into an office, hotel and apartment complex. An abutter, Intrum Corp., has filed a lawsuit challenging the project.

Boston-based Anchor Line Partners and Northwood Investors of New York are converting the 500,000-square-foot former U.S. Postal Service sorting facility at 200 Smith St. in Waltham into open-format office space expected to be available in early 2017.
Boston-based Boylston Properties is repositioning and expanding a 93,000-square-foot industrial building at 490 Arsenal Way in Watertown into a 185,595-square-foot office complex with 14- and 30-foot ceilings.